Springtime Fireflies
by ZachWilson
Summary: Clans battle for survival in a new Warring States period. ((Please be aware this story will use no Naruto characters, and be pretty much entirely OC. I'm using the base world, and the Shinobi systems as we know them to be. Some characters and events may be referenced but besides that this is just my own little story. Rated M because I don't know where I'll end up taking this.))


The full moon hung low in the sky. Its light shining brightly off of the many blades embedded in the ground, and in the bodies of the fallen. A river ran through this ancient forest creating a clearing, and on all sides of this clearing stood great mountains watching without interest. The riverbanks were rocky, and were covered in large rocks and boulders were the broken bodies now lay. Grass is sparse, and ground was mostly covered in small stones and pebbles. In the middle of the river stood two young men facing each other.

The young man on the right has hair so light it was almost white falling around his face, and almost blocking vision of his unflinching green eyes. He wears a long black shirt with sleeves now rolled up, and black pants messily tucked into black sandals. On the back of the shirt where the shoulderblades meet is a symbol of a circle with two vertical lines splitting the circle into thirds. The young man stood ready with his blade, and displayed no emotion. His ribs were cracked badly, and it hurt more to not breath than it did to breath. He was quite sure that one of his ribs had punctured a lung, and that his odds were quite low if he did not receive medical attention immediately. His hands did not shake however, and his gaze did not waiver. He could not show emotion.

The young man on the left has wild black hair sticking up and out. His eyes are a deep cold blue reminiscent of an ocean. He wears a white vest with various pockets over a short-sleeved black shirt, and black pants tucked nicely into black sandals. His arms were sleeved with tattoos of waves, and mountains, and most noticeably the moon in the backs of his hands. This young man stood straight, and had his hands buried into his pant pockets. His face was blank as he grasped a small explosive ball in his right hand, and a smoke bomb in his left. He had seen his sister die at the hands of the other man today, and his father at the hands of another. His only weapon had been shattered, and he knew that if he could not flee he would join his sister. His face did not betray him, or show any signs of his plan. He could not show emotion.

They were Shinobi after all. The slightest display of emotion would show vulnerability, and with vulnerability came death. This was the way of the world. Clans fought and struggled for resources day after day. Many years ago there were great ninja villages, and even though these villages had their issues they were able to stand together to save the world when needed. They ushered in an era of peace, but time erodes all, and the Daimyos hungered for more. A great war broke broke out, and shattered the unity these lands faced. The death of the Kages, and the murders of the Daimyos struck away any chance of peace. Individual clans in villages grew to distrust each other, and then some clans decided they would rather attack than be attacked by the others. Entire lineages were wiped away overnight as tribalism consumed the ninja world. The Warring States Era resumed with a renewed vigor and ferocity, and for the last few hundred years it has remained that way.

"You're Akio Kutsuya right?" The light haired man asked. "I thought you looked familiar. That puppet of yours was quite nasty, but as durable as it was it can't beat my Flying-Blade style. Especially when the chakra blade is active."

Akio let out a sharp exhale "Flying-Blade huh? That must make you Genkei Iruson. You're the brother of the Razor-Wind himself huh?"

Genkei let a smile creep onto his face "Hah. Yeah that'd be me."

"You know you've killed my sister today yeah? My father was cut down too. I've lost enough, and frankly I'm not interested in losing my life either. What about both of us walking on home huh?"

"No" Genkei replied as he quickly sheathed his blade. "If this matchup was more even I'd consider it, but right now you're a sitting duck. Without that puppet of yours you have no outs other than Ninjutsu, and you won't have time to form the hand seals and gather your chakra before I'm on top of you."

"My thoughts exactly" snapped Akio as he, in one swift motion, pulled his hands from his pockets, and pitched the explosive in his right hand straight at Genkai, and tossed the smoke grenade at his feet.

Genkai launched towards Akio quickly forming the Bird hand sign launching a wind bullet at the explosive throwing it straight back at Akio catching him off guard. Akio quickly swatted it as the smoke from his smoke bomb completely covered him, and the surrounding area. Desperately trying to form the Tiger hand sign and gather his chakra Akio stepped back, but as he made the sign he saw Genkai's blade swing towards him. Choosing to drop the hand sign Akio launched himself into the air. As he moved his gaze up he saw Genkai in the air right in front of him with his blade ready to swing. The look of surprise on Akio's face betrayed him, and that small mistake kept frozen as Genkai's blade arched down towards Akio, and separated his head from his neck.

Akio's body hit the ground hard. Genkai landed smoothly, but as he stood up he stumbled. He was badly hurt, and he knew that, but luckily Akio hadn't been able to put up much of a fight. Genkai sheathed his blade, and was about to depart back to the clan when he heard a rattling noise. He spun around and drew his blade only to narrowly block an oncoming puppet. His blade was only halfway out of the scabbard, and the puppet was keeping it from being drawn further. His sword had blocked its hands, where the middle and ring finger of the puppet had slid open to reveal needle-like points dripping with a purple liquid. Genkai realized this liquid was poison, and if this puppet even scratched him he would die. As this thought came to mind the puppet's mouth dropped open revealing a kunai knife tucked within a spring launching mechanism. Genkai shifted his blade up just enough to block the kunai as it flew out, but doing so put him just close enough for the puppet's chest to burst open, and wrap cables around Genkai. Genkai felt his spine crack and his cried out in pain. The puppet let go of the sword only to wrap its arms and legs around Genkai. The puppet's eyes opened revealing two nozzles which started pouring out poison gas. Genkai tried to hold his breath as long as he could, but with an already punctured lung now worsened by the vice grip the puppet had on him he eventually breathed deeply in on some base instinct. As he did the nozzles ceased spraying the gas out, and as Genkai began having seizures he heard a voice.

"It isn't very often I get to use Appaku. Those Magnet Release users of your clan make conventional puppets worthless. Luckily there are almost always more than enough dead to use. I'm honestly a bit sad you killed Akio. His puppets were ingenious, and he was getting close to cracking the seamless puppet design. If I could've gotten here sooner he would still be alive. That poison affecting you is new. Once you breath it in it works with your brain to shut down everything. The brain doesn't do this willingly of course. That's why you're having that seizure, and why you can still hear and process the words I'm saying. If your eyesight wasn't so blurry from the tears you might even be able to see me too. Oh well, it should be over for you soon."

With these last words Genkai's body arched as he let loose one last spasm. His body then went limp as his heart stopped. A light brown haired man walked up to Genkai's body as the puppet Appaku unwrapped itself from Genkai.

"I'm sorry. I didn't really intend for that poison to do what it did for you. I was hoping you would lose consciousness before everything else hit so you wouldn't have to suffer. If it were up to me our clans wouldn't be fighting anymore, but your clan leader is a stubborn, and frankly aggressive ass. Oh well. That won't stop me from trying for peace." The light brown haired man gently closed Genkai's eyes. "Rest well. I'm sorry for what happened here." With that the light brown haired man turned and walked away with his puppet in tow. As he turned away he saw the moonlight dancing off of the blades of the fallen, and for the briefest of moments he could pretend that he was a kid again catching fireflies with the leader of the Iruson. Back before their lives changed. Back when they both had hope. The facade endly quickly however, and the light brown haired man walked into back into the night.


End file.
